Fuse adapter plug



May 26, 1953 v c. E. EGGERS I 2,640,126

FUSE ADAPTER PLUG Filed Jan. 50, 1952 [221/827/0). Kim/9s Zlgyezzs.

/ I I ){t/azwey Patented May 26, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FUSEADAPTER PLUG Charles E. Eggers, Great Neck, N. Y. Application January30, 1952,; SerialN-o. 269,048

7 Claims.

1 This invention relates to improvements in fuse adapter plugs.

The invention is more particularly concernfid with an expendable fusecarrying adapter device to be plugged into the usual baseboardreceptacles and/or other house wall outlets, and into which a standardattachment plug is adapted to be plu The invention is particularlyconcerned with such a device which is provided with a fusefor each ofthe wires or lines to provide individual protection thereof for lampsand other electrical equipment, independently of and in addition to theusual house circuit protecting fuses.

An object of the invention is to provide a fuse adapter plug of thischaracter having in'o'ne face thereof a pair of socket engageable prongsandin the opposite face a pair of spring contact plates, the latterbeing "disposed "in the plug body ats-ub stantially right angles to theprongs of the opposite face and'engageable by the prongs'of a standardplug, and wherein theprongs and contact plates are spaced by thedielectricmaterial of the plug body but are connected :in electricalcircuit,

through tfnse elements which are permanently. connected to the prongsand contact plates through passages the plug body.

A furtherobject of the-invention is to provide a, fuse adapter plugwhich is of such construction that it is capable of manufacture atrelatively low cost whereby it may he economically discarded uponblowing of a fuse therein.

These and otherohjects and advantages-of the invention will becomeapparent to those versedin the 'art in the following desoniption-oftheinvention "as illustrated in the accompanying-drawing; wherein:

Fig. 1, is an isometric view of the main body portion of the iniprovedfuse adaptenplug in ao-v oordance with a preferred structural embodimentthereof;

Fig. 72 i a top plan 'view'of the ibody portiongof the plug and showingthe chambered portions thereof;

3 is an isometric view :ofthetransp -rent cover'for theplug body whichis ope'rativel-y associated with the body portions, *shown'in Figs. 1and 2, 'to close the chambers therein Fig. 4 is "a transverse sectionalView, "in ithe plane of line 4-4 -"on 2, and show-ingfthe assembledplug, and

Fig. e is a longitudinal sectional -vi'ew :Qrtl-re cover in the plane-of-line '55 on'Figl ii.

Referring now -to the drawings for a more 1 'detailed description or the-invention, the improvedv (Cl. ZOO-115.5)

2 plug will be seen to include a main body portion 10 vand a cooperatingcover member ll This; body [.0 is formed :of a suitable plasticinsulating material and includes a base portion [-2 which is solidcxceptfor a pair of laterally disposed prong receivable openings 13. A coverseouring'rivet receiving bore [4 is disposed centrally of this bodyportion and intermediate the openhuge 13. One side of the base i2 isprovided with an inset marginal seat 15 for a purpose later referred'to. Thisside of the base ortion 12 also includes integral centrallydisposed generally H-shaped block or wall 16 surmounting the base andinwardly of the marginal seat l5. The shape of this projectin wail blockportion 15 provides two oppositely disposed recesses 1,! which registermiaththe prong receivableopenings 13. At each of the four corners .ofthe wall block 46 the sides thereof. extend to the marginal seat IS inthe provision of right angularly disposed fine or partiti'ons 18,forming eight chambers around the wall block I 5. More specifically itwill he seen by reienence to Fig. 2 in particular, that the generallyhi-shaped wall block provide the recesses 11 atzeach side thereof and intransverse [alignment with the bore M. Also that each airof fins orpartitions yttextend furomeachof lthevfour corners of the wall block inright angular relation to each otherto theiree lateralledges .lfi of thefins which are flush witha shoulder-defining one wall 15* of theseat-JB.

'A pair of WHAI SQCISSt engageahle prongs 19ersdill-V5111'DI'JIlQlfldEidilltO the Wall block portion 1.5 to desiredextent and same are disposed in the -.1 situ.d na1cen e o t eplue b dy0- ,A reyersely bent spring contact plate 239 of usual form is disposedwithin each openin 13, nqre clearlyseen in Fig. 4. In-addition to theelements of the adapter plug just described. the plug-is providedwithnapair of fuse elements 21. Each of the fuse elements are .in theform of a, fusible stnand and one thereof has an ,end rii 'dlysecuredttoone prong .l 9 and the other-end rigidly secured to one contact plate20, while the otherelemen-t haseone end rigidly secured .to the otherprong-and iitssother end. rigidly secured to theothercontact plate.

I rigid connection of the .fuse elements is preferahlyiefiectedhysoldering s= out other means may beadopted.

top wall. of portion 45 is provided with-a of ohannels 22, leading froma prong l flito amend wall of the wall-bloc}: portion-t6 intermed'atexa:paireof the fins lsB, pair of nns Latxdiagonall-y supposed corners of:the Wall block are provided with notches 23. Each fus element thusextends from a prong l9 through the channel 22 and the pair of notches23 thence to the inner ends of the contact plates 20. Here the innerends of the contact plates are bent at right angles to provide retainingledges 24 overhanging the inner ends of the passages 13 and to whichcorresponding ends of the fuse elements are secured. It is to beparticularly noted that the ledges 24 are disposed within the recessesIT and the contact plates 20 are restrained against movement outwardlyof passageways l3 solely by said ledges.

The cover [I shown in Figs. 3 and 5 is also formed of plastic insulatingmaterial but is preferably of a transparent material for providingvisual inspection of the fuse elements 2i, and their connections withthe spaced prong and plate members l9 and 20.

The cover H includes a top wall 25 of the same shape and size as thebase portion l2 from which depends a marginal wall. whose free edge 21is adapted to engage the seat 15 and the adjacent marginal wall I5 onthe base portion 12. The cover is provided with a pair of spaced blocks28 which are integral with the walls 25 and '26. The blocks 28 extendinwardly from opposite inner faces of the marginal wall 26 and as shownin Figs. 4 and 5 stop short of the marginal free edge of the cover for adistance equal to the depth of the body shoulder I5 plus the thicknessof the plate portion 24 and connected fuse wire 2 l.

The spaced opposed. ends of these blocks are further shaped to snuglyfit into the recesses 51 in the H-shaped wall block it and provideadditional partitions for the surrounding chambers. A primary purpose ofthese blocks 28 is to rest upon and exert pressure on the ends of thefuse elements 2|, which overlie and are secured to the ledges 24 of thecontact plates 20. By this means the fuse ends and attached contactplates are restrained against movement inwardly of the prong receivingpassages IS. The cover It is further provided with a central aperture 29alignable with the bore H for receiving a rivet 3| to permanently securethe cover on the body portion.

The cover is further provided with a pair of slots 30 for closelyreceiving the prongs 29. Irrespective of the particular contour of thebody portion ll), it will be apparent that same is capable ofexpeditious and economical manufacture by a moulding process and whichalso applies to the cover H which is of simple box-like form.

With the body portion l and cover ll provided, the fuse plug adapter isreadily completed by the simple operations of driving the pair of prongs!3 into central portions of the wall block :5, dropping the contactplates 20 into the openings l3, disposing the fuse elements within thechannels 2?. and notches 23 and soldering the ends thereof to the prongsl9 and ledges 24 of the contact plates. The cover II is then placed onthe body in the position of Fig. 4 and a rivet 3| is passed through thealined openings I and 29 and upset at opposite ends thereof as is alsoindicated in Figs. 4 and 5.

The completed plug is in effect a unitary element in the same sense asare the usual well known house fuses but possessing in addition theretothe advantage of being quickly and easily connected into circuit withthe usual flexible cord connections of lamps and the like at the usualwall sockets. The fuse elements 2| may '4 of course be of differentcapacities and fused plugs may accordingly be constructed for variouscurrent amperages as are the well known house fuses.

It is to be particularly noted that the inner face of the side wall 26of the cover ll engages the edges l8 of the fin-like partition walls l8,and the inner face of the top wall 25 of the cover engages the upperface of Wall block I6 as well as the top edges of the fins [8. Thiscombination and arrangement of parts provides a series of closedcompartments surrounding the wall block [6 and effectively eliminatesarcing and explosion, since the connections of each fuse element 2| witha prong l9 and a contact plate 20 are separated by a pair of spaced finsH3. The transparency of the cover ll offers visual inspection of thefuses 2| whose opposite soldered ends are clearly visible through therecesses I1 and channels 22.

From the above detailed description of the invention, it will beappreciated that an adapter fuse plug is provided as a unitary device,capable of economical manufacture and which may be dispensed with, as anordinary fuse upon the occurrence of an overload or short, causing afusible element to be blown.

While I have disclosed. my invention in accordance with a singlespecific structural embodiment thereof, various changes may be made inthe details of construction without departure from the spirit and scopeof the invention as efined in the appended claims.

What I claim. and desire to secure by U. S. Letters Patent is:

l. A fuse adapter plug comprising a body memher having a pair of wallsocket engageable prongs extending thereinto and from one face thereof,a pair of openings for receiving the prongs of a connector plugextending into said body member from another face thereof, a contactplate disposed in each of said openings and having a ledge overhangingthe inner end thereof, fuse elements interconnecting the ledges of saidcontact plates and said prongs, and a cover supported on said bodymember over said fuse elements and including pressure block portionsreacting upon said ledges for retaining the contact plates againstrelative movement in said openings.

2. The structure according to claim 1, wherein said fuse elements extendthrough spaced body portions and are permanently secured at their endsto said prongs and said contact plates, and wherein said cover enclosessaid spaced body portions and is permanently secured to said bodymember.

3. A fuse adapter plug comprising a body member including a base portionand a block portion surmounting same, a rivet receiving bore extendingthrough both said portions centrally thereof, a pair of openingsextending through said base portion on opposite sides of said bore forreceiving the prongs of a connector plug, a contact plate disposed ineach of said openings and having a ledge member on its inner endoverhang ing the wall of the opening and resting in part on the upperface of said base portion, a pair of wall socket engageable prongsextending into said block portion and projecting from aface thereof,strand-like fuse elements having corresponding ends thereof secured tosaid prongs, the other ends of said fuse elements resting upon andsecured to said ledge members, and a cover supported on said baseportion and said block por- 5 tion and includin pressure means engagedwith said other ends of the fuse elements for retaining the contactplates in said openings.

4. The structure according to claim 3, wherein said fuse elements aresoldered to said prongs and said ledges, and wherein said cover isprovided with an aperture alined with said more, and a rivet extendingthrough said bore and aperture and being upset at its opposite ends forpermanently retaining said cover and said base portion together.

5. The structure according to claim 3 wherein said block portion isgenerally rectangular in plan and wherein same is provided with a pairof finlike partition walls extending laterally outwardly from eachcorner thereof in right angular relation, the outer edges of said finsengaging the inner face of said cover, and the pairs of fins atdiagonally opposite corners of said block portion being provided withnotches for receiving said fuse elements.

6. The structure according to claim 3, wherein said block portion isprovided with laterally opposed recesses in which said ledges aredisposed,

and wherein said pressure means comprises blocks integral with saidcover and disposed within said recesses.

7. A fuse adapter plug comprising a body member including a generallyrectangular base and a generally rectangular block projecting from onewall of the base, the block having a pair of prongs extending thereintoand projecting from a wall thereof opposed to said first wall, a pair oflaterally aligned recesses in opposed walls of said block and extendingfrom one of said first walls to the other, a pair of openings in saidbase for receiving the prongs of a connector: plug openin through saidone wall and opposed wall of the base, a contact plate disposed in eachof openings and having a ledge overhanging the inner end thereof andresting on said one wall and within a respective one of said recesses,fuse elements interconnecting the ledges and said prongs, and a coversupported on said base and enclosing said block, said cover having apair of pressure members engaged within said recesses and bearing onsaid ledges for retaining said contact plates in said openings.

CHARLES E. EGGERS.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 1,539,385 Ellis May 26, 1925 1,886,706 Macdonald Nov. 8, 19321,917,745 Weiss July 11, 1933

